Andrew Shows
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I graduated from Maryland Institute College of art. I then received a master’s degree from New Mexico Highlands University. My heroes were Eakins, Singer Sargent, and especially the “Ashcan Alley School.”
I was an art teacher on the first indigenous contract school in the United States—Ramah Navajo School, Ramah, New Mexico. The school board requested an art teacher with a degree, and someone who could produce art while in the classroom. The benefit was that interested students gave their full attention during every class.
I paint Native American images, which I mine from varied museum archives. These individuals are where my heart is. My love of the plight of the people, that I worked with, created with, and partied with, is indelibly imprinted on my soul. For the past forty years, I have painted with oils on large canvases in vibrant colors, focusing on portraits of women. Their endurance and pride often displayed their determination through desperate times.
I have sold my fine art world-wide through extensive gallery connections. In 1981 I was awarded a 1% for the arts city commission to build Kolowisi, a 66’ long, red, steel snake sculpture on Lomas Boulevard in Albuquerque, New Mexico.